A &#xA3;10M centre to develop business management skills has been given the go-ahead in North Wales.

The venture, at University of Wales, Bangor, last night landed &#xA3;5m funding from Europe's Objective 1 programme.

The project involves refurbishing five of the university's oldest buildings overlooking the Menai Strait.

University officials claim the facility on the Hen Goleg site will rival any in the UK.

It will havetraining rooms for more than 500 students.

There will also be conference suites and 55 bedrooms. The man behind the project, Dylan Jones-Evans, last night said it could make a "real difference" to the region.

Mr Jones-Evans, professor of enterprise and regional development at the Bangor business school, said: "The lack of management skills within businesses has been identified as a major barrier to the development of the Welsh economy.

"The creation of this new facility will help address the provision of management courses for Welsh business," he said.

He said the delivery of high level management training was long overdue in Wales.

"Most importantly, it will provide opportunities for local firms to develop their potential for growth, and give Wales a facility for business and management to rank with the best in Europe," said Mr Jones-Evans.